With this post, we turn our attention to the chest rig. The main focus of my article is on the standalone versions of the chest rig, but the information applies just as readily to plate carriers and other ways of moving the load higher on the torso.

This post continues our look at load carriage by focusing on more traditional load bearing equipment. Before we get into my personal setups, I want to talk a little bit about how load carrying gear evolved over time.

For whatever reason, I don’t think the Trijicon battery-powered LED ACOGs have gained as much traction as they deserve. The classic combat optic paired with an efficient LED emitter is a great combination, and I want to take a deeper look at it. In particular, I’m going to review my TA-110 ACOG with the horseshoe-dot reticle and green LED illumination.

The battle belt is a sort of modern iteration of the classic ALICE gear that served the US military from the 70s through late 90s. But there are some significant differences, particularly in the type and amount of load that the belt handles.

If you are very particular about the way you clean your rifles, then you probably take great care not to damage the crown or chamber of your gun. A cleaning rod guide, or bore guide as they’re often called, is a very effective way to prevent that kind of damage.

This post continues what I started in my introduction to load carriage. In that article, I talked about the ongoing battle between weight and capability. It turns out that up until very recently, the average weight carried by soldiers remained shockingly stable. When it comes time to fight, the recommendation is to stay less than 30% of your lean body mass or about 50 lbs for the average person.

The original SEAL Recce Rifle was an in-house modification to M4 carbines. The history goes back to the early 1990s. Since they were so individualized, there really wasn’t a spec, but there is an accepted pattern to follow.